A New Curse
by Daerick
Summary: A new year will begin in hogwarts shortly, and with it, new trials for our heroes. R
1. The Dream

The characters, Spells, Places and the whole concept of the world of Harry Potter belongs completely to J. K Rowling. Everything besides that which is only the storyline and some characters I might add at will belong to me, though I don't mind sharing them.

Enjoy the story!

Harrys point of view

I turn off the light in my small second floor room at the Durslys and beg for some good night sleep. My scars has been hurting for days without end and the few last days I could do little but lie down, looking at the ceiling. The second my head touches the pillow a terrible pain courses through my entire brain, forcing my eyes to close in agony and my fists to clench together. As it fades slowly I turn to my side and try to lie still, hoping for forgetfulness in sleep.

After what seems like hours to me and a few minutes for the lying clock I feel light and sleepy, and I close my eyes.

I am a snake.

I have been this snake before. This is a vile serpent, the size of a man, with glaring red eyes. This is also me.

I stand in a big room with stone walls. Those stones are huge boulders, chipped at the edges and look only remotely fitting for building. But still they are there. There are dusty bookshelves on the walls, lined with piles of thick dusty books. I know what those books contain and yet I do not, those books rouse my interest, but I seem to have little control of myself. I do not approach the shelves.

Instead I take out my wand and cast a soul into oblivion. I feel relieved and I call a name. A robed wizard, dressed in black comes into the room. He is not at all familiar and the deep lines of age carved into his face along with his almost luminescent white hair and beard are in complete contrast to his black and lively eyes. Eyes full of mischief. I command him and point at a prisoner. In the dim light of the room I see the poor soul trying to break the bonds chaining him to the heavy oaken chair. The man casts a curse and I see him immediately writhe in anguish as he falls on the floor. The scared man in the chairs seems surprised despite himself and unhurt. "Splendid", I say and break into laughter that reminds me of the spider cavern in the forbidden forest, when the 8 legged horrors gave chase to Ron and myself. I feel great pain and I wake up. My scar hurts, and I remember fragments of my dream. I look at the clock and it informs me it's morning, and I should get up. I do so and my vision blurs, followed swiftly by a wave of pain. I refuse to let it vanquish me and so I walk another step towards the door of my room just as my uncle barges in. He seems to be in a good mood and he tells me to come down as fast as I can for breakfast. I mumble something through the veil of pain and sluggishly go to my dresser. I pick a random pair of pants some shirt, sloppily putting them on. I look up at my uncles worried face I gather all my will and manage to voice a coherent sentence "I ha... have a ter... ter... bad headache". He seems worried but he asks no more of me. I see him run down the stairs as fast as he can. He can't. I feel a sudden and sharp fear as he looses his footing only to regain it a moment later, stop and then continue his hasty descend. I walk slowly to the bathroom, barefooted, as I hear the refrigerators door open and then close a few moments later, and my aunts high pitched voice soon follows. I do not hear what she is saying, I am in the bathroom and my raise my eyes to the mirror. I see an unwashed horror in front of myself, it's hair a sticky unkempt pile on top of it's scarred head and I vaguely recognize myself. I open the water valve and the chilling stream envelops my hand. The cold does wonders to my headache and I feel the pain slowly leaving. I raise my hand and put it on my forehead, letting the clear drops slide down on my cheeks and chin, melodically falling back to the sink. I begin to wash my face, removing the dirt that found its way there in the past few days, of which I remember naught. As I finish brushing my teeth my Uncle walks into the room and offers my a glass of what seems at first as murky water. I look at it distrustfully and lift my eyes to my uncle, as if in question. "It's for the head, Harry, it will do you good", he says and I pick up the cup and drown it in one gulp. It has a sweet flavor which I find reassuring though slightly nauseating, and I thank him for the drug. He seems satisfied as he takes the cup and leaves the small bathroom, closing the white wooden door behind him. The cool water and the fast acting drug combine forces and I feel amazingly relieved. I sprinkle a few drops of water on my hair and move the brush through it. When the brush gets stuck I decide it's futile and lower my dirty head into the sink. When I'm all dry and done, I get my slippers from my room and walk downstairs and catch a seat next to my cousin, who seems surprised by my sudden appearance. If he feels anything about it, he keeps it to himself, and we sit there quietly, waiting for the food. 


	2. The News

The characters, Spells, Places and the whole concept of the world of Harry Potter belongs completely to J. K Rowling. Everything besides that which is only the storyline and some characters I might add at will belong to me, though I don't mind sharing them.

Enjoy the story!

Harrys point of view yet again

My aunt comes carrying a dish stacked with pancakes, and Dudley seems to forget himself and lunges forward almost knocking the aunt of her feet. My uncle howls and rescues his wife together with the heavy plate from Destruction in the hands of Dudley. 

A few minutes later everyone is seated and feasting and I hardly remember the nightmare I had. I hear my uncle speaking and raise my head. "Harry,", he says, a bit annoyed. Perhaps I've been too occupied with the delicious food to hear him speak earlier, since he obviously says my nice not for the first time. "yes, uncle, I am listening", I say, curious. "Harry, an owl came while you were away and left you a letter. I believe it is somewhere on your desk". I thank him and resume the eating. A thousand thoughts cross my mind, but one of them stands out from the rest. OWLs... It seems very likely to me, and, satisfied, I take some maple syrup and shower my pancake. 

Once I feel my stomach satisfied I turn to my aunt and ask to be excused. I go up the stairs hastily and without delay enter my room. There, as my uncle said, lay a letter. It took me a short while to notice that it has not been written on the usual parchment, but on what seemed like muggle-made paper, clear and white. 

Clear?

I came closer and examined the blank piece of paper without picking it up. I went to my trunk and opened it, my objective was right on top of the usual junk. I picked my wand up and held it in my hand, ready for whatever unpleasant surprise the blank sheet may hold. I touched it gently with my left hand index finger and for a short moment something seemed to stir on the surface. 

I quickly remove my finger and look cautiously around. Nothing. "Foolishness" I whisper to myself in the sunlit room and grab the paper. Immediately fire sweeps on its surface, revealing charred black letters. The top line reads "How To Use The OWL Sheet Correctly". 

So those are the OWLs! 

I read the directions page excitedly, trying to memorize them. I'm finished in a few short moments and turn the page as I was told to. The next page is the thing that keeps Hermione alive, the grades. The thought of her stops me in my tracks and feel a sudden stab of pain in my heart. I haven't seen her for so long...  

I remove the bothersome thought from my mind and the pain goes away slowly after it. Now I stop to look at the grades. The transfiguration grade is the first one to catch my eye. A round and perfect black circle is etched next to the name of the subject. An "O". A small burst of happiness sweeps through me as I keep scanning the page. 

Charms are E, which is fine enough, I think to myself . 

Defense is another "O", at which I find myself surprised no bit. 

Potions is next, and mutter a small prayer before looking at the appropriate line. An "E". AN E! I feel in the clouds now and already contemplate sending letters to all my friends. Ron, Cho, Hermione... "Hermione", I say quietly, a bit sadly. She has no clue of course. She is a bit blunt when it comes to extra curricular activities such as attraction. 

I sweep the brooding thought from my mind once again. 

Then a grade catches my eye, a "D". A "dreadful". In... In Divination, as I expected. It would be no news to me that I was well below average on this unnecessary subject. This all-out degenerative subject. And I wouldn't care less unless I saw the line below. "Must take additional class on subject". I must what? I cannot believe it! I felt the fury swell inside me as I read on.

The astronomy grade is acceptable and I got an Outstanding in both herbology and care of magical creatures, which does unclench the red fist of fury in my heart, but only to a small degree. 

The last subject is history in magic and as I look at the single letter written next to it I feel my mouth turning into a perfect gesture of surprise. I even scan the line again to make sure I didn't miss any subject, but at the end I am forced to believe my eyes. An E on the history of magic.

Having read the grades I follow the instructions and put my wand across the sheet, which turns blank again and folds gracefully into the shaft. As I pick up my wand I notice a small dent in the wand, the shape of a bird, where it surely wasn't before. Looking closer I recognize the general features of a great owl and smile to myself, my troubles already forgotten. 

I turn and walk towards my still open trunk and draw out a few sheets of parchment and put them on my desk. I turn to draw the ink as a familiar knocking sound echoes through my room. I leave the trunk ajar and hurry to open the window. The tiny buzzing creature that I invite is of course Rons owl, all too ready to dispose of the big and heavy peace of paper tied to its tiny clawed leg. I untie the tiny ribbon and let the animal go back to it's mindless hovering. I read the letter slowly, reveling in the light headed words of my best friend. I outscored him in everything except defense and divination, and he outscored me on the latter by quite a bit. I immediately begin my reply, and half through it I hear a strong pecking sound a bit too near my ear. I turn around and before me stands the big owl I quickly identify as Hermiones. It seems to be displeased at the lack of my attention and doesn't bother waiting for me to untie the knot. Instead it pecks at it twice and flies away, seeming offended. I pick the slightly chipped letter and a warm feeling sweeps over my heart.


End file.
